A pithy comic strip about life, love, lust and puthy cats.

Est. 1985

Extra, Extra!

Java Script

By Jimmy Johnson

January 8, 2007


Today’s old A&J comic from 2007 seems appropriate. Meanwhile, in the real-time A&J strips, the power has been restored. The strips this week were suggested by an actual event of a few weeks back, an event I witnessed as it unfolded. It was early morning, and I was standing in my home office, indeed enjoying my first cup of coffee. The power line from the street to our house hangs rather low and passes by my window. As I absently sipped coffee and peered out, the line began to bounce. At that point, I knew what was coming. Sure enough, the pesky squirrel that lives in the attic above the porch was heading out to meet the day, taking his usual route down the power line to the magnolia tree. I silently cursed him and watched him pass my window and disappear down the line, which continued to bounce. Suddenly, it stopped bouncing and dropped another two feet, leaving it perilously close to the lawn. And the electricity went out. I trepidatiously crept out the front door into the yard, expecting to find my power line lying in the street. It was not. Also, the other end still was securely fastened to the house. Yet something obviously was very wrong. I easily could have reached up and touched the wires if I’d been stupid. The power was out. And the squirrel was overhead in the magnolia tree, cussing me! I’ve gone on too long already about not much. I’ll give you the dénouement tomorrow.


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48 responses to “Java Script”

  1. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    I’ve often wondered what it takes to become a nationally syndicated cartoonist. Many things, I’m sure, but one of them is certainly knowing, and being able to correctly use, words such as “trepidatiously”.
    Also, I would never play Scrabble with Jimmy.

    1. Jimmy Johnson Avatar

      I impressed myself with “dénouement!”

      1. Ghost Avatar
        Ghost

        Yeah, that there one, too. 🙂

  2. Keith Johnson Avatar
    Keith Johnson

    Actually, of course, coffee is just VERY VERY VERY dark brown. You can see this when you spill a little on the counter, and the edges of the drop appear (just) dark brown. Or if you spill it on a white towel, but I’ve sworn I’m never going to do that again!

    1. Sideburns Avatar

      So spill it onto a white paper towel, or other piece of white paper.

  3. John in Houston Avatar
    John in Houston

    Decades ago, I read a Readers Digest story about some downed power lines that fell across a yard and electrified the ground. Someone walks nearby and they can’t move away, the electricity somehow holding them, stuck and scared until power is cut off. It may be messed up in my memory, I was very young, but it’s always stayed with me whenever I see droopy lines and leaning poles.

    In my earliest teenager jobs, I had moved up from fast food to convenience stores when a too tall truck snagged power lines across the street and knocked out power, (just to the store I was at). Can’t remember how long it was out, but customers told me the beer was ‘off’.

    When playing Scrabble with a lady friend, agree on your dictionary. My 45 year old Scrabble dictionary is different from what’s online. They’ve removed anything the least possibly offensive and added weird words no one’s ever heard of.

    1. Jimmy Johnson Avatar
      Jimmy Johnson

      John, I think your memory is correct. As I understand it, what you are describing is electrocution, if the current is strong and/or long enough.

      1. Tom (formerly) from the front range. Avatar
        Tom (formerly) from the front range.

        I posted a rather long URL about a fairly recent episode in Tampa, so long that it may have ended up in arbitration.
        Here is the tiny URL:
        https://tinyurl.com/yxdmwpjl

        At one time electrocution meant death by electricity (and still does among professional electricians). Like many words the meaning has changed and now can mean a severe shock.

    2. Anna Avatar
      Anna

      I know exactly which story you mean – it stuck with me too. The family tried to evacuate their house which was also unsafe due to the downed line(can’t remember if there was a fire or what), but the mother got stuck on the lawn. IIRC, there were spots that were navigable and others that had current with no way to tell.

  4. Cozmic Cowboy Avatar
    Cozmic Cowboy

    Sometimes coffee does turn grey when you add cream; when that happens, pitch it and make a new pot, as that is a sure sign that it’s too old & will taste way nasty.

    1. Sideburns Avatar

      And if the milk/cream/whatever starts to curdle and clump when you add it to the coffee, dump it and wash the cup well, because the cream has turned bad.

  5. Alan Avatar
    Alan

    So what happens when you add something truly white (white ink, white water-based paint) to coffee?

    I’m now curious:

    What happens when you add cream (or “creamish substance”) to a truly black hot liquid (moderately diluted ink or water-based paint)?

    For that matter, what happens when you add cream to plain hot water?

    Visual test only, not a taste.

    I no longer drink coffee (since 1976, when I gave up smoking), so will not be do not have the necessary ingredients on hand to do the tests myself.

  6. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    Nerve impulses are electrical in nature. An electric current strong enough to override the impulse but not cause death can paralyze the muscles until the current is shut off. And you’re right, electrocution as a term does not mean death, but the shock itself these days. For medical purposes, the same is true of the term drowning, which now can mean immersion without death.

  7. Judy in Conroe Avatar
    Judy in Conroe

    I think the squirrel in Jimmy’s magnolia tree was lucky to be in good enough shape to cuss. And maybe his community electric supply is ‘friendlier’ to wire trekking rodents. When we lived in New Orleans, there were several instances in my neighborhood when we heard a loud BANG and lost power. When we went outside, we found the body of a squirrel on the ground and a blown-out transformer up on the utility pole. So far I have only heard a transformer blow once here in Conroe, but we live farther away from neighbors than we used to.

    1. Mark in TTown Avatar
      Mark in TTown

      It might be that the squirrel jumped off the line, causing it to swing back and contact something that grounded it and caused an arc. Back in Alabama we had a substation that seemed especially sensitive to winds, as it lost power nearly every time we got a thunderstorm. And if you want to see something colorful, have a transformer arc out and catch fire, especially during a storm.

  8. Oldbear Avatar
    Oldbear

    Our Co-op monthly letter has had safety warnings about power lines.
    .
    Stay in your vehicle.
    If you must leave your vehicle – jump, do not touch vehicle & ground at same time.
    Keep both feet on ground – shuffle with feet close together- do not walk or run.
    Do not get closer than 10 feet (maybe further in wet circumstances) to downed line.
    Treat all downed lines as “Live”.
    .
    There are more but these are a start.

    1. JJ Avatar
      JJ

      I’ll try to remember that.

  9. Nancy Kirk in AZ Avatar
    Nancy Kirk in AZ

    Hi, Ghost and Jimmy. I had just read today’s remarks by Jimmy out loud to my husband and had specifically commented on trepidatiously and was also thinking about dénouement. Great minds, surely!!

  10. curmudgeonly ex-professor Avatar
    curmudgeonly ex-professor

    JJ, so why did your powerline sag so much? Could there have been another rodent who chewed through some supporting device? Maybe the observed squirrel was commenting on a friend getting fried (out of your sight).

    1. JJ Avatar
      JJ

      You’re getting warm.

  11. Jackie Avatar
    Jackie

    Have taken up reading again thanks to Ghost setting me up to read Kindle. I read at least one book a day, sometimes more. I just began rereading Ian Fleming with book #1 Casino Real and wi!l go in order.

    Light reading. Read article about how to write a book that said to buy and read a Harry Potter. book, then copy everything she did. The same could be said of Ian Fleming and James Bond.

    One thing is very clear, the importance of food. Harry Potter, James Bond and Dave Robichaux used food and drink to sell millions of books.

    1. Lost in A**2 Avatar
      Lost in A**2

      If you are going to read Mr. Fleming’s work, don’t forget _Chitty_Chitty_Bang_Bang.

      1. Jackie Avatar
        Jackie

        Yes, I saw that today and may read tomorrow out of order. Have never read but loved .movie, music and may have to find movie.

        Reading about cars in Bond books a d movies right now

  12. Jackie Avatar
    Jackie

    Casino Royale.

  13. Mary McNeil Avatar
    Mary McNeil

    It DOES turn gray of you use 1 percent or skim milk.

    1. Lox and schmear Avatar
      Lox and schmear

      California? I haven’t visited in a long time, but remember that in the 1990’s skim milk in CA was visibly Blue. I presume from some additive the local dairy council believed would boost satisfaction among consumers. Like another reader yesterday, I wonder if Blue tint + coffee brown might turn gray.
      I always thought it would pair well with Green Eggs and Ham, and a short orange juice.

  14. Jackie Avatar
    Jackie

    Yes, I saw that today and may read tomorrow out of order. Have never read but loved .movie, music and may have to find movie.

    Reading about cars in Bond books a d movies right now

    1. Mark in TTown Avatar
      Mark in TTown

      Have you read any of Clive Cussler’s books, Jackie? If you haven’t, start with Raise the Titanic.

  15. Jackie Avatar
    Jackie

    Mark, Clive Cussler wrote more than 80 adventure books! Fortunately they are all Free on Kindle.

    Anyone want to suggest Free Kindle books for me,?

    1. Jackie Avatar
      Jackie

      On no, I looked too fast! Clive Cussler is Not Free but $9.99 each! Audio is Free.

      I read too fast for $9.99 but so much of Free is dreadful formula.

      1. Mark in TTown Avatar
        Mark in TTown

        Depending on which library you have a card for, you might be able to check out e books through an app to read. Mostly what they will have is newer releases, but it doesn’t cost anything and you don’t have to actually go to the library to check out and return them.

  16. Jackie Avatar
    Jackie

    On no, I looked too fast! Clive Cussler is Not Free but $9.99 each! Audio is Free.

    I read too fast for $9.99 but so much of Free is dreadful formula.

  17. Rick in Shermantown, Ohio Avatar
    Rick in Shermantown, Ohio

    Not being a cartoonist as well as having stunted creativity, my first gag of the day is rarely related to humor.

    Instead, it’s a reaction to the healthy but tasteless breakfast that I force myself to eat every morning.

    1. Rick in Shermantown, Ohio Avatar
      Rick in Shermantown, Ohio

      It figures that I would post just a bit before Jimmy provides a new entry.

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